The present invention refers to a connecting device for intra-atrial ECG-lead and in particular to a connecting device with which the patient cable of an ECG display may be connected to the electric conductor of a vena cava catheter.
A connecting device disclosed in EP 0 596 344 B1 comprises a connecting cable for direct connection with the electric conductor of a vena cava catheter for contacting the atrium, and an adapter to which a connector of the patent cable may be applied and which may be connected with an ECG clamp of the patient cable that is part of a display. Using the patient cable exclusively, an extracorporeal ECG lead may be performed by plugging the three ECG clamps of the patient cable onto ECG electrodes fastened on the patient's body. When the adapter is used in addition, it is possible to perform an intra-atrial ECG lead instead of or in addition to the extracorporeal ECG lead, where an electric conductor extending in a vena cava catheter is advanced into the atrium of the patient. The extracorporeal end of the electric conductor is connected to a second input of the adapter through the connecting cable. It is possible to connect either the first or the second input of the adapter through to the output of the adapter and to transfer the respective potential through the connected ECG clamp of the patient cable to the display. The presence of the adapter is imperative to performing an intra-atrial ECG lead. Without the adapter, the connecting cable is useless, since only an extracorporeal ECG can be recorded using the patient cable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,995 and DE 43 19 033 C1 describe catheter guide wires adapted to be advanced up to the heart, with their tip projecting from a vena cava catheter. Further, DE 43 18 963 C1 describes a device for performing an ECG lead, where the ECG signals are transmitted using an electrolytic liquid forming an electrically conductive liquid column.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,786 describes a catheter set offering the possibility of performing an ECG lead, where the ECG signals are transmitted out from the body via a guide wire. To the side of the guide wire, a clamp connected with a connecting wire is applied.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a connecting device comprising a connecting cable and an adapter, which can selectively be used with or without the adapter for an intra-atrial ECG lead.